Help the Living
by FaithinBones
Summary: Bonesology fanfic challenge: What if Booth was badly injured while Brennan was on the run between Seasons 7 and 8?
1. Chapter 1

Bonesology fanfic challenge: What if Booth were badly injured while Brennan was on the run between Seasons 7 and 8?

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

She tried to keep track of what was going on outside of her bubble of solitude, so she watched the news on television when she could and read the Washington Post and local newspapers online when she had access to the internet. She didn't expect to see the names of any of her friends in the newspapers, but occasionally she could count on an article about the FBI and their search for her. It was annoying, but all she could do was stay in her bubble and wait until her friends and co-workers absolved her from the murder of Ethan Sawyer. She missed Booth so much and ached for him. She loved him so much and she knew that he must be frantic about her and Christine's welfare. She had hated to leave him behind, but his position at the FBI had to be protected and she hoped that he would forgive her when she finally went home. She had left him behind to protect him and she would do it again.

That day, the local news was concentrating on a fire in Buchannan's Birthplace State Park near Loudon, Pennsylvania and how the fire had been started by a careless visitor who had failed to dispose of his cigarette properly. Her motel was near the fire, but the fire was contained and the Sheriff of the county was certain it would be completely out by nightfall. Before she could turn the television off, breaking news started to crawl across the bottom of the screen.

 _A bombing has been reported in Washington D.C. this afternoon. FBI spokesman Jason Bennett gave a short news conference at 3 p.m. confirming that a bomb was detonated at the VA Medical Center. The motive for this attack is unknown at this time. First responders are at the scene searching for survivors. More news to follow at six._

A little concerned, Brennan chewed on her left thumbnail as she tried to tell herself that though the bombing was horrible, it had nothing to do with Booth. Frustrated that she was so isolated, she knew that trying to contact anyone could lead to her arrest. Most of her friends and co-workers were being monitored of that fact she had no doubt. As she stared at the television, hoping to see more about the bombing, she heard a sound outside her motel room door. Cautiously, she moved over to the door and gently moved the curtain aside with as minimal movement as possible. Relieved to see her father, she opened the door careful to step back so no one could observe who had opened the door. "Dad."

Feigning nonchalance, Max entered the room and closed the door behind him. "Hey Tempe . . . I just got off the phone with Ralph Saylor. You know he's keeping an eye on Booth for us . . . um, listen . . . Booth . . ."

Brennan felt weak as she sat down on the edge of the bed closest to the door. "The bombing . . ."

He should have known she already knew and now he had to make sure she didn't run off to try to rescue her boyfriend. "Yes, Booth was there. It looks like the bomb went off in the lobby right after Booth entered the building. Ralph tried to get in, but the door was blocked with rubble and . . . he called me and let me know what was going on. He said he'd stay and keep an eye on the situation and call me as soon as he knew something."

"Dad, I need to go." Brennan stood up and glanced at her child who was sleeping on the bed next to her. "I . . . Christine . . . "

Max placed his hands on her upper arms and held them tightly in his grip. "No, Honey, you can't go. You'd be arrested in a heartbeat. You know that . . . I called Hodgins on a burner phone just before I walked over here . . . He's on it, Sweetheart. He's going to drive over there and see what's what. His connections with the Cantilever Group should help him at least a little. I only talked to him for a couple of minutes, but he's on it. I gave him Ralph's number, so he can tell us what is going on. He's got this one Tempe. As soon as Hodgins knows something we will too. I promise."

Afraid that Booth was hurt and needed her, Brennan tried to reason with her father. "If he's hurt then they need to know about the injuries he has suffered in the past . . . his brain tumor. They could affect his recovery and . . . and his sensitivity to anesthesia . . . if they need to operate on him and they give him the wrong anesthesia he could go into a coma again . . . he might not recover from a second coma, Dad. I have to be there."

"No!" Max was terrified for his daughter. "You can't. Cam has his medical information. I know she does. Hodgins mentioned it. He wanted to make sure I knew that Booth would be taken care of and he will be . . . Tempe you're expecting the worse. He might not be hurt at all. For all we know he was on the other side of the building when the bomb went off and now he's busy helping the victims. That would be just like him, right? Booth to the rescue? Right?"

"It's possible." Brennan didn't know what to do. She was used to taking charge of situations as it was warranted, but now she was in a situation where she couldn't do anything at all. She hated it and debated whether or not if it was worth risking her freedom to help Booth. "I don't know what to do Dad. I need to see if he's alright."

Max knew that his daughter was ready to ignore his pleas and run back home. "Tempe . . . Tempe, Ralph is there and he'll know as soon as the victims are found. Hodgins is going to be there using his influence to keep on top of things and you know Cam is a good friend. She won't let anything happen to Booth. You know that . . . what do you think it would do to Booth if you were arrested and put in prison? You know Pelant could arrange to have you killed. Believe me, it isn't as hard as you think it is . . . You can't go looking for him. You have to protect Christine. You have to protect yourself."

Her father made sense, but it tore at her that he was right. It made her feel sick and it filled her with grief that she couldn't do something for the man she loved. Unable to prevent it, Brennan felt tears stream down her face and she knew she would do as her father asked. At least for a little while.

Oooooooooooooooo

As soon as Hodgins got off the phone with Max he contacted the Cantilever Group's board chairman, Roger Parsons. The chairman did what he could to find out what was going on at the VA Medical Center, but the situation was chaotic. Roger used his connections and offered to set up a tent for the rescue workers with food, drink and cots to rest on. He also offered his services as a physician to help render aid and to help the EMTs if they needed it. His offer had been accepted and Roger personally supervised the setup of the tent in the parking lot and then kept an eye on the rescue attempt, helping where he could. Occasionally he had called Hodgins to give him an update about who had been rescued. So far the building had been successfully evacuated, but no one had been able to get to the Lobby yet.

The bomb had not been a small one and it had destroyed the entrance to the medical center. The floor above had collapsed on the floor below and it was thought the front of the building was unstable. Because of this, rescuers were careful about removing debris to get into the building. To minimize the danger to the rescuers and possible victims, some of the rescuers were dispatched to entrances in other parts of the building and they had worked their way to the disaster zone. The entire building had been evacuated which had taken time. They had to make sure no one else was being placed in danger.

While that was going on, the men and women caught in the blast were trying to rescue themselves if they were able. The counter in the lobby had buckled, but not completely and offered some protection for those near the counter. When Booth had entered the building he had walked around the counter and was approaching the stairwell when the blast had gone off. He was immediately thrown from his feet and debris had rained down upon him in a few short seconds. Stunned he had laid where he was for several minutes while he tried to understand what had happened to him. His head hurt and so did his upper left arm. Eventually he forced himself to move and when he did he noticed blood on his clothes. Gingerly removing his jacket he found his white shirt sleeve covering his left arm was now an unhealthy bloody mess. Carefully he moved his fingers over the wounded area and realized there was something embedded in his upper arm.

He had seen many such wounds in his life and he knew that he couldn't remove the object. He didn't know how deep the wound was or if the object was located in a major artery. If he was foolish enough to remove it he knew he risked bleeding out. He also knew he needed help and he needed it soon. Woozy he lifted his right hand, rubbed his head and found it was wet. Inspecting his fingers he found blood which told him he probably had a head injury.

His mind clearing, he remembered that he had not been alone when he entered the building. Agent Martinez had followed him from the Hoover to his appointment at the Va Medical Center and entered the building right after Booth did. The FBI was no longer pretending he wasn't under surveillance and they didn't care if Booth knew that he was being watched or not. Calmly, he moved to his knees and searched behind him. Spotting Martinez near him, he crawled over the debris and found the agent was dead. Furious that a good man was dead because the FBI didn't trust him, he knew that he would have a few things to say to Flynn when got the chance. While he fumed over the death of the agent he heard a few moans which caught his attention. Booth called out.

A shout closer to the counter drew his attention and he moved debris from his path as he tried to move closer to whoever had shouted at him. A few feet nearer to the counter and he found an older gentleman lying on his side covered with a ceiling tile. His mangled wheelchair was close by and held up a very large piece of wood. Booth was sure that the wheelchair had protected the old man from harm. "Hey . . . Hey are you hurt?"

The man looked at Booth with a look of disbelief and shook his head. "Son does it look like I'm alright? . . . I threw myself to the floor when the explosion went off. Probably a dumb move for someone my age, but instinct took over . . . I really don't feel so good. Maybe I'm just bruised, I'm not sure. I was already kind of broken up before this happened, so who knows."

"Would it be okay if I tried to move you closer to the counter?" Booth pointed at the ceiling where detritus was still falling from the roof above to the floor below. "The roof doesn't look too stable to me."

Slowly, the man moved up onto his elbow and looked up. "Shit . . . I guess you'd better help me."

Booth moved around the older man and cleared a path to the counter. Once that was done, he moved back and with his hands under the man's armpits moved him. The pain in his arm was excruciating, but he couldn't leave the old man where he was. Slowly, Booth dragged him over to the counter and helped him sit up. "Are you in pain?"

"Son, I'm always in pain . . . But I know what you're asking me and I think my knees might be heavily bruised. I don't think anything is broken. Lots of cuts and scrapes . . . not too bad really. Thanks . . . I guess I need to buy a new wheelchair, damn it."

Relieved Booth patted the man's shoulder and called out once more. "Anyone need help?"

A weak voice around the other side of the counter called out. "Yes please . . . My leg is trapped and I can't . . . I can't move it . . . maybe you could . . . maybe you could help. I'd appreciate it."

Booth moved over the rubble covered floor, moving whatever he could out of his path. Some pieces were too big to move and he had to crawl over them. Once he was on the other side, he noticed the ceiling overhead was groaning and he didn't like the sound of that. "I'm here." As he placed his hand on the shoulder of the person lying before him, he realized that the person lying there couldn't have called out to him. The man's head had been crushed and he was dead. "Where are you? Say something."

"Something." The voice was towards the left and very close by. He couldn't do anything for the dead man, but he could help the living. Moving a piece of ceiling tile he found an older woman lying on her back staring at him with a look of relief. "You may not be able to help me . . . but if you could try I'd be grateful."

Nodding his head, Booth removed as much material from her body as he could and then studied the beam pinning her leg down. "Okay, I don't think the beam is really lying on your leg . . . it looks like your leg is being protected by other junk and that stuff is holding the beam off of you. Let me see what I can do."

Grateful for the help, the lady smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you. If you have to cut my foot off warn me. I hate surprises."

Carefully, Booth moved his hand under the beam and removed some crushed ceiling tiles from the side of her foot along with some pieces of cement. It was trapping her foot and removing it gave him a little room to move her foot. Struggling, he removed her shoe and once that was done, he was able to pull her from the trap she had been in. Her legs were heavily bruised and the trapped foot and shin had some tears and deep abrasions. Tearing strips from the tale of his shirt he made crude bandages and tried to slow down the oozing blood. Once that was done, he moved her over to the counter and propped her up so she was sitting up. "Okay then. Let me see if anyone else is here. Did you notice anyone else in the lobby?"

The woman nodded here head. "Yes, there were two people sitting behind the desk and I saw a man pushing a wheel chair into the lobby. It had a box sitting on it . . . I thought that was odd, but people do odd things . . . now I guess I know what was in the box."

Disgusted with the situation, Booth nodded his head. "Yeah." Moving back to where the old man was sitting, he found the gap allowing entrance into the reception area was covered with heavy debris. "Hey . . . anyone need help?"

The sound of silence met his call and Booth felt that the two people that were supposedly there were either unconscious or dead. He tried to move the material inside the counter area, but suddenly felt faint. With little choice, he sat down and realized that his arm was throbbing. The old man noticed the blood on Booth's arm and became a little frantic. "Son, come here. Come here Son. I need to try to slow down some of that bleeding. It's okay, come over here. Let me help you."

Booth heard him, but felt sick when he moved. He knew he had no choice if he wanted help. He would have to move towards the man, because the old man couldn't come to him. Slowly, he scooted over to the stranger and stared at him. "Don't pull the thing out of my arm."

"My name is Marvin . . . I won't do that. I know better." After he removed his shirt leaving him in a torn t-shirt, Marvin tore it into strips and using some of it as padding, he placed it around the object sticking out of Booth's arm and then bandaged it as best as he could. "Okay, I don't really think it's deep or you'd be pumping blood . . . You can't move anymore shit around. You need to sit still."

Alice was feeling better and though her foot and legs were stinging, she felt she could move over to where the men were if she just used her hands and wiggled her butt over the ground. Keeping close to the counter she was soon sitting next to Booth. "Hi, my name is Alice . . . if you'll listen you can hear someone trying to get to us . . . hear it?"

Both men felt relief. Booth touched his head where the cut was and realized that it was still oozing blood, but he didn't think it was really serious. He knew that head wounds always bled a lot. Alice motioned towards Marvin and snapped her fingers. "Marvin, throw me some of your shirt and I'll fix this young man's head or at least cover the wound. It's a nasty cut."

"I'm Booth and thanks." He sat there between the two senior citizens while they fussed over his head wound. Once that was done, he laid down and stared up at the ceiling. "My girlfriend is going to be upset with me . . . I hope she doesn't hear about it . . . she's out of town . . . I miss her and my little girl."

His voice was low and almost too faint to hear, but Alice and Marvin heard him. Alice felt that something else was wrong with Booth, but she didn't know what it was. She wasn't a nurse and she was afraid if they weren't rescued soon the young man was going to be in serious trouble. "I'm sure she won't be angry with you."

Booth laughed quietly. "You don't know her . . . she thinks I get hurt too much . . . I miss her." His voice took on a tinge of sadness. "I'd like to hear her fuss at me one more time. I wouldn't mind. I don't know if she's even alive or dead." His face grew pensive and he thought about his Bones and how he might never see her or their daughter again. "I'm sorry, Bones."

The younger man was becoming too still and his words were disturbing, too disturbing for Marvin's peace of mind. The old man turned his gaze upon Alice. "Alice, lets yell some so that the people outside know we're here. Booth you stay quiet."

Alice nodded her head and started to shout along with Marvin. As they shouted they heard return shouts and they both smiled. "Well at least they know we aren't all toast in here . . . damn I wish I had eaten breakfast this morning. I could use a piece of toast right now . . . maybe an egg on top of it . . . some bacon, who doesn't like bacon?"

Amused, Marvin shook his head. "I don't. I'm a vegetarian."

"That's too bad." Alice never understood vegetarians. "A good BLT with lots of bacon on a fresh roll with mixed greens and mayo . . . okay let's stop talking about food . . . damn I wish I had eaten breakfast."

A noise towards the back of the room, the sound of falling masonry and suddenly they weren't alone. "Anyone hear me?"

So happy to hear a new voice in the room, Alice called out. "Over here. Two old codgers in need of rescue and one badly hurt superman. Hurry . . . he needs help."

As quickly as possible, several EMT's arrived by the trio and after a quick exam realized that Booth needed the most help. With quiet efficiency, they worked on him while the agent slowly lost consciousness.

Ooooooooooooooooooooo

Does this sound interesting?


	2. Chapter 2

(Between Season 7 and 8)

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooo

She was worried and she didn't bother to hide it. Cam couldn't understand why Booth wouldn't wake up. His injuries had been serious, but not life threatening. His back and shoulders were heavily bruised where he had landed on them during the explosion. The piece of metal lodged in his arm hadn't hit a major artery although it had bleed a lot. The scalp wound had required several stitches which Cam knew would leave a small scar. Booth was probably going to be very annoyed when he found out about that. He'd also suffered from a concussion, but all in all the situation could have been much worse. She just couldn't understand why he was still asleep. It had been three days since he had been put under, so that the surgeon could remove the piece of metal from his arm and repair some muscle damage, but he was showing no signs of waking up.

"Are you sure they didn't use that anesthesia that put him in a coma the last time." Angela was starting to think the anesthesiologist had not listened to Cam before the surgery and had used it anyway. "If he used it then that would explain why Booth won't wake up."

Cam shook her head as she sat next to Booth's bed. "No, I was there, remember? I was in in the operating room and I observed everything. He should be awake by now. There is no reason for him to be in a coma . . . I don't understand."

Filled with a sense of dread, Angela stood up and made a decision that she knew could have disastrous repercussions. "I'm going to call Jack and let him know what's going on. He's worried sick about Booth too."

Everyone was worried about Booth and Cam wasn't sure what they could do to help him. "Okay."

Ooooooooooooooooooooooo

Max knew that he had to tell his daughter about was going on with Booth, but he had made sure there was a plan in place before he risked it. He knew that once she heard that Booth was in a coma, she'd race to his side consequences be damned. He just hoped that the plan he had cooked up would work. If it didn't more than one life would be ruined of that he was certain.

"Okay, Honey, I talked to Ralph who talked to Hodgins and this is the latest news." Max hesitated for a moment. He was prepared for her reaction, but he was still afraid she wouldn't listen to him. "Booth is still asleep. Cam told Angela who told Hodgins that the anesthesia they used on him wasn't the stuff that they used on Booth during his brain surgery. She was very careful about that, but it seems that the new anesthesia might have affected him too." His daughter had stood up when she heard the news which forced Max to move over to stand in front of the door leading out into the parking lot.

Suspicious of her father's motives, Brennan glared at her father as he blocked the door. "I am going to go see Booth. I'm not sure how, but I will find a way and you can't stop me from seeing him. He needs me."

"Honey, hear me out. I have a plan." Max was desperate for her to listen to him. "Please . . . As soon as I realized you were going to want to go to him, Ralph and I cooked up a plan. It's a good plan . . . I have a lot of friends, so does Hodgins. Ralph was my go between and we know how we can get you in to see Booth without jeopardizing your life in the process. You know the FBI has a guard on Booth and they have agents in the hospital hoping you'll show up."

"I know that. It's logical." She impatiently waited for her father to explain his plan.

Grateful that she was listening to him, Max tried to relax and make sure his plan was laid out in an orderly fashion. "Okay . . . We're going to sneak you into the hospital as a nurse and you're going to wait in the MRI room. Hodgins has a friend who is a neurosurgeon who is going to be assigned to Booth's case. He's going to arrange for Booth to have an MRI and you're going to be in the room with the surgeon when that happens. His plan is for Booth to have an MRI, then he will dismiss the technician and he will 'study' the results while you see Booth." Max used his fingers to make quote marks to emphasize the word study. "You'll have about ten minutes at the most and then you'll have to leave so they can take Booth back to his room. Hodgins says it's not normal procedure at the hospital for the surgeon to be there for the MRI, but they'll make sure the excuse they use makes sense."

"Ten minutes isn't a lot of time." Brennan remembered she had been with Booth for three days the last time he was in a coma and she had spoken to him as much as possible. She had written a book just for him and she had read it as she typed it up. "I need more time."

"There isn't more time." Afraid that Brennan was going to balk at the time limit, Max knew he had to be brutal with her. "Look, you have Christine to think about. What do you think would happen to your baby if you were caught and went to jail and Booth stayed in a coma? Christine needs her Mama. How many times have you accused me of abandoning you when you were fifteen? Are you planning on abandoning your baby too? Is that what you're going to do?"

Filled with anger, Brennan stepped closer to her father and poked his chest with her finger. "I am not like you. I would never abandon my baby. Why do you think she is here with me and not with Booth? I couldn't do to her what you did to me."

Calmly, Max nodded his head. "Then ten minutes is all you can have with Booth. Anything more and you might be caught and you would be abandoning your baby."

His words were like a cold bucket of water hitting her in the face. "I will use the ten minutes as efficiently as possible, but I am certain I can't accomplish anything in that short period of time."

"Thank you." He knew that it was hard for her to accept his restrictions and he appreciated that she was willing to abide by them. "Thank you, Tempe. We'll try to come up with a better plan after you visit Booth and maybe you can see him for a longer period of time later. For now this is all we have."

Oooooooooooooooo

The next day, she stood quietly next to Dr. Blackburn as her lover was wheeled into the room. The technician was very efficient and the test was soon complete. Before he left the room, he moved Booth closer to the door, but left his patient in the room. While the surgeon studied the results on the screen before him, Brennan slipped into the room and hurried over to the bed. Worried that Booth was unable to wake up, she leaned over and kissed him as hard as she could. She wanted him to feel her lips against his lips and know that she was there. "Booth, Booth you have to wake up. I'm fine. Christine is fine. We need you to wake up." He didn't react and her heart beat a little faster in fear. One more kiss and she placed her hands on the sides of his face. "I'm sorry I left you without explaining my plan, but you had to be kept in the dark. It was to protect you, Booth. I love you so much and I need you to wake up. Please Booth wake up. I need you . . . I need you."

His body was still and didn't show any signs that he was going to wake up. Brennen felt helpless and realized that her being there was not helping him like she had hoped it would. She knew she needed more time and she didn't have any. Desperate, she kissed him one last time. "I miss you so much. I miss seeing your beautiful smile and your dark brown eyes watching me. I know you watch me Booth. I watch you too . . . Christine hasn't forgot you Booth. I promise. I show her your picture every day and she smiles when she sees it. I smile too, Booth. I need to see you every day just like our baby does. I'll be home soon. I have faith that you and our friends will find the proof you need to clear me of the murder charge so I can come home to you and I want to come home. I do, Booth. I love you . . . please wake up."

Dr. Blackburn entered the room, placed his hand gently on her arm and sighed. "You have to go, Dr. Brennan. I'm going to do what I can for Agent Booth. His MRI doesn't show any signs of brain damage. His tumor isn't back, so that's something we don't have to worry about. I think it will just be a matter of time and he'll wake up. It's possible that the anesthesia they used on him is the culprit. Some people are just very sensitive. Given his past medical history I'd say he will eventually wake up."

She knew she had to leave, but it tore at her that she had to abandon her lover. She had never loved anyone as much as she loved him and it crushed her heart that she couldn't stay. "Alright. Please let Dr. Hodgins or Dr. Saroyan know if anything changes."

"I will." Dr. Blackburn glanced at the door as the technician reentered the room. "You have to leave now." As Brennan left by the door opposite the one the technician had entered the surgeon turned and smiled. "Hey, just in time. You can return Agent Booth to his room."

Brennan made her way through the corridors careful to keep her face down and tried not to draw attention to herself. Once she was outside the building, Ralph opened the passenger door and she slipped into his car. "He's still in a coma. I couldn't help him."

As Ralph drove away, he knew that they had done all they could do for Booth. "He'll be okay, Tempe. He's just being stubborn. Max says that Booth is probably the most stubborn man he's ever met. He'll wake up when he's ready."

"Yes, he can be very stubborn." Brennan glanced back at the hospital as Ralph left the parking lot and entered the street. "I wish I could be with him. I needed more time."

There was nothing else he could say and Ralph knew it. He would wait for Hodgins to give him reports about Booth and he would pass them on to Max as quickly as possible. That was all they could do for now.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

An hour after his MRI was complete and he was back in his room, Booth finally opened his eyes. Not sure where he was, he moved his finger to his lips and rubbed them. "Bones . . . Bones . . ."

She was so happy to hear him speak and was thankful that their wait was over. "Booth . . . it's Cam. Dr. Brennan isn't here . . . welcome back."

As he continued to rub his lips, Booth let his eyes take in the tubes running towards his arm. With the sight and sound of the monitors next to his bed, he knew that he had been rescued. "Bones kissed me, she's alive . . . she asked me to wake up. Where is she?"

Since she knew that Brennan was still hiding from the FBI, Cam was sure that Booth had dreamt about his partner and was probably disoriented. "She isn't here, Booth. She's still gone." She saw him shake his head in disbelief.

"No, she was here. She kissed me. She said she missed me and she told me to wake up." He tried to sit up, but felt woozy and lay back down. "Why do I feel so weak."

As patiently as she could, Cam tried to explain his condition. "You lost a bit of blood . . . from the metal embedded in your left arm and the scalp wound. You have a concussion and a lot of bruises and cuts. They had to operate on your arm to remove the metal piece and to repair the damage . . . you've been asleep for four days."

He didn't like the fact that he had slept for that long, but the rest didn't sound so bad and for that Booth was grateful. "Bones was here. She told me to wake up. I had to wake up for her . . . for her. She and Christine are alive."

Cam was grateful that Booth was awake, but it broke her heart to tell him it had all been a dream. "I'm sorry, Booth. It was just a dream. She isn't here. She was never here."

He didn't want to believe his friend. Booth had felt Brennan's lips on his and she had told him that she loved him. "She kissed me."

Sad that Booth had to be separated from his family, Cam leaned over and hugged him. "I'm sorry, Booth. She isn't here. We're still trying to find a way to prove that she had nothing to do with Ethan's death. We will though and when we do, she and Christine can come home."

He knew his friend was wrong. Cam didn't know what he knew and he would not accept what she said. "She was here and she kissed me . . . I had to wake up for her . . . she told me to wake up. She kissed me."

Since he refused to accept the truth, Cam knew that it was important that she calm her friend down. "She had to leave, Booth. The FBI is watching you. They have a man on the door. She couldn't stay. Do you understand?"

"Yes." And he did understand. Brennan had known he was in trouble and she had come to him. She had kissed him and given him a reason to wake up and he had. "She loves me and she'll be back when she can. She and Christine will be back."

Relieved that he was calmer, Cam patted his shoulder. "Yes, they will."

Ooooooooooooooo

Hodgins informed Ralph that Booth was awake. The news soon reached Brennan who cried tears of joy. "I was so worried."

Max felt helpless since he wasn't used to seeing his daughter crying. After he embraced her, he rubbed small circles on her upper back as he tried to soothe her. "He must have heard you when you talked to him. You did it Tempe. You helped him."

She didn't know if that was true or not, but that didn't matter. What mattered was the fact that Booth was awake and he would recover from his ordeal. She loved him and vowed to help her friends find a way to prove she was innocent, so she could return to her partner. They needed to be together. Booth needed to see his daughter as well. They needed to be a family again.

Oooooooooooooooo

Let me know what you think of my story. Thank you.


	3. Chapter 3

(The Future in the Past)

Thank you for reviewing my story. I appreciate it.

I don't own Bones.

Ooooooooooooooooooo

She was finally back home and things were tense in the Booth and Brennan household. Booth felt that even though Brennan was back in his life she was constantly pushing him away. He didn't know why and he didn't know how to stop it. He had tried to make sure she understood that he didn't blame her for running away and leaving him behind, but she didn't seem to believe him, or at least that was the way it seemed. It made conversations between them strained and filled with doubt.

Brennan was trying to assimilate back into a normal lifestyle with Booth and she was finding it hard to do. During the months she had been away, she had become used to being independent and having to include Booth in the decision-making process for anything was proving harder than she had expected. Before Christine had been born, she had had a challenging time when she had started living with her partner. She had balked when she realized that she would have to give up her independence, but eventually she had learned that sharing responsibilities and compromise was part of what it took to be in a monogamous relationship. Now that she had lived independently for several months she was having difficulty relearning that lesson again and tempers were on edge.

After a difficult week, Brennan had talked to Dr. Sweets and realized that part of her problem was that she was having a difficult time accepting that her happiness was contingent upon Booth's happiness. When Booth had been seriously hurt in the bombing and had been in a coma, she had been frantic to be with him. After she had heard that he had awakened and was recovering, she had felt both relief and anger. She loved Booth so much, but that love made her vulnerable. What if he had died? What if he had stayed in a coma and never woke up? She knew that those two scenarios would have made her very sad, very unhappy and she wasn't so sure she would have ever been happy again.

On the other hand, Booth being in her life made her happy and she felt wanted. Until she had met Booth, her life had been serious with little joy. Her partner's role in her life had changed a solitary life in to a life filled with love and companionship. Brennan knew she would have to accept that being with Booth had its risks, but they were worth it. They had to be. Because of Booth she was the mother of a beautiful baby girl and that child made her feel a connection to the world she had never really felt before. Christine gave her unconditional love and showed her a future that used to seem all but impossible.

Letting herself love Booth had proved to be both complicated and scary, but she knew she could never give him up. The future would have to take care of itself. She couldn't live in fear of what might be.

That evening, the tension between the couple was gone. In its place was a calmness and a certain amount of anticipation. Though they had made love several times since Brennan's return that love making had been almost frantic as if they feared that one of them would suddenly be whisked away from the other.

Booth lay in bed and while he waited for Brennan to join him, he watched her comb her damp hair. He loved the methodical way she moved the comb through her hair. No motion was wasted and soon her hair was straight and free of the tangles that usually formed when she washed her hair.

As she placed her comb down on the dresser, Brennan looked at Booth in the mirror and saw the intense look he was giving her. "What?"

"I love watching you get ready for bed, that's all." The fact that it was their bed that she was preparing to enter was the point he was trying to make, but he knew that she would think he was just being possessive if he told her that. It had been a long summer and the fact that he could have died and never held her in his arms again made him feel that it was important to show her just how much he loved her. "I love the everyday routine. Brushing your hair, dressing for bed, it's the normalness I missed this summer. I missed the little things as much as the big things."

She knew what he meant and she agreed. Moving over to the bed, she laid down next to him, then rolled over onto her side. Moving her hand over his left arm, she felt the scar that had replaced the wound on his upper arm. For the first time since she had returned home, she allowed herself to really look at Booth's body. She knew he had suffered the wound on his arm and that he had suffered a scalp wound as well. Now that they were more in tune with each other, she now felt it was alright to inspect his body to make sure nothing was being hidden from her. "I think the scar on your arm will fade with time. The surgeon did an excellent job." She sat up, placed her hand on his head and felt for the scars that she knew were there. He kept his hair cut a little longer where his scar was that had been created when he had had brain surgery and since she wasn't sure where his scalp had been torn, she moved her fingers slowly through his hair seeking it out.

Booth was aware of what Brennan was looking for and he let her look. He knew she needed to inspect his scars and make sure that he was alright. Sometimes at night, when they were in bed, she moved her hands over the scar on his chest and the one on his hip. She would then move her hands over the rest of his chest and arms as if she was making sure nothing else had changed since the last time she had seen him. Sometimes her search included his back, his legs and his hips. It was almost a ritual and one she did at least once a week. It was who she was and it made Booth feel loved. No one had ever cared for him like Brennan did. She knew every scar on his body and they didn't bother her. She had once told him they told his story for him. He was a warrior and the scars were his medals of honor.

She found the new scar and inspected it closely. "Again, the surgeon did an excellent job. I think this one will fade with time too. It's too close to your other scar for comfort, but no permanent harm was done."

"Just a lot of bleeding." Booth was amused. He was sure he had been quite a sight with blood trickling down his face and neck. Alice had tried to mop the blood from his face after she had wrapped his head in strips of Marvin's shirt, but he knew she had just smeared the blood. "Head wounds always look nastier than they really are."

Satisfied that her search hadn't revealed anything that she hadn't known about, Brennan moved to lay down and face her lover. "I came to see you in the hospital, but I could only stay for ten minutes. I wish I could have stayed with you, but it wasn't possible. I need to get back to Christine."

She sounded so sad and that made Booth sad too. Rolling onto his side, he faced her and moved his hand so that it rested on her hip. "I knew you had come . . . Cam didn't believe me when I told her that you had come to me, but I knew . . . you told me to wake up and I knew that I had to and I did it. I woke up for you."

Tears moved down her cheeks as Brennan realized that her visit in the hospital had not been in vain. "I knew I had to speak to you. I didn't want you to think I had forgot about you. I needed to remind you that I needed you and you had to wake up not just for me, but for Christine."

"Thank you." Booth leaned towards her and kissed her. "I would do anything for you, Bones, anything."

Her tears stopped and she wiped them away with her hand. "I know. You have told me before you would die for me, but I would rather you lived for me instead."

Her words ignited a passion between them and soon they were joined together finally making love to each other instead of just having sex. Once more they were united and their love was just as strong as it had ever been. Their bodies moved together as one and they continued to break the laws of physics.

Oooooooooooooooooooo

I hope you liked my story.


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